ROUTE 52 - THE OHIO RIVER SCENIC BYWAY

A few years back, my annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Vacation took me to Kansas City. On the way I left the Interstate and traveled on Route 52 between Huntington, West Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio. This entire route ran along side the Ohio River.  One of the great things about leaving the interstates and traveling the "old roads" is they still retain their character.

The interstates are great from getting from Point A to Point B, but it you want to see the true character of America, you need to travel the old roads.  Route 66 is the most famous of the pre-interstate highway and many of the classic motels, restaurants and attraction have been preserved. But other highways like U. S. Routes 11, 60, 460 and 50 are great roads of character.  The one thing that you must remember is to take your time and not hurry.

As I was meandering along Route 52, I came across a couple of old Mail Pouch Barns. For those of you that don't know about these barns, they were forms of advertisement for the Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company which made Mail Pouch Chewing Tobacco.  The first Mail Pouch Barn appeared in about 1891 and continued until the early 1990's. These barn along with others such as "See Rock City," and "Ruby Falls" were extremely popular in the 1960's. During the 1960's there were more than 20,000 Mail Pouch Barns alone in about 22-States.

Sadly the barns began disappearing in the late 1960's thanks to the Lady Bird Johnson highway beautification act which prohibited certain forms of outdoor advertising. Over the past 50-years or so many of these old barns have faded into the past and have been lost to father time. So it was wonderful to find a couple of these relics of the past on the banks of the Ohio River.

I must confess, I just didn't happen to stumble onto Route 52, there was a method to my madness. I am a fan of American History, especially Presidential History. So in addition to a nice leisurely drive, Route 52 runs through the tiny village of Point Pleasant, Ohio which is the birthplace of President Ulysses S. Grant.

The village of Point Pleasant is located about 25-miles east of Cincinnati, where on April 27, 1822 Ulysses S. Grant was born.  The future president only live here for a few months before his family move to nearby Georgetown. The small home was built in 1817 and in 1821, Jesse and Hannah Grant move here and paid $2 a month rent.

Today the house and surround area is preserved by the Ohio Historical Society. The home is furnished with several pieces of furniture that was owned by the Grant family along with several period pieces.

While the grounds are open year round the building have seasonal hours and during my visit were not open for tours.  The Ulysses Grant Birthplace has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

From Point Pleasant it's just a short drive into Cincinnati where I was able to find a parking spot near stadiums and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the Riverfront, Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark.

After visiting the stadium area I called it a day. Below is a short video from my trip along the Ohio River Scenic Byway.